County population grows at record pace

April 02, 2001|By PETER COMINGS

Vanderbilt Village President Elizabeth Haus chuckled when confronted by the disparate figures. She blamed the official loss on the timing of the count. "I think Vanderbilt faces the same problem the towns in Florida do," Haus said. "The retirees are down there. At Census time they were leaving. I don't think there was a loss per se. I went by my available demolition permits and new construction permits and I just felt we hadn't grown at all."

"This does not bode well for us because (state) revenue sharing is based partly on your population," she said. The village passed it's budget two weeks ago, approving $175,779 in its General Fund, $49,500 in its Major Street Fund and $44,300 in the Local Street Fund. Each of those categories is already down slightly from fiscal year 2000-2001, a trend Haus sees continuing based on the population returns. Affected road funds are appropriated monthly from the state. State sales tax money is distributed bimonthly.

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"I figured if we had a 3-percent loss it would be close to that same percentage in dollars."

The rest of the county reaped a population windfall led by Hayes Township where the population increased 66 percent from 1,437 to 2,385. Elmira Township grew by 53.9 percent from 1,038 to 1,598. Charlton Township's population expanded by 45.7 percent (913 to 1,330), Otsego Lake Township's by 41.1 percent (1,794 to 2,532).

Hayes Township also led the county in the 1990 Census, growing from 888 to 1,437 people at a rate of 62 percent.

"We still like to consider ourselves a rural township," said Hayes Township Supervisor Mary Sanders. "My only commercial development is a golf course. I think that Hayes Township is looked at as a residential township."

Real growth, she observed, has developed in the transition from summer cottages to full-time homes as the state's aging population has retired and moved north. In its review of Census data the Detroit News reported Thursday half of Otsego County's residents are over age 55. Sanders said the township's other attractions are dividable 10-acre plots, ripe for the filling with the latest in modular homes.

"I have next to nothing for mobile homes anymore," said Sanders. "Now it's modular homes. Having that convenient, affordable housing opportunity has tended to focus the population increase in the county." At least one Gaylord modular home dealer reports sales doubling in the last 10 years.

"It's the growth end of the housing business," according to Herb Russell, owner of Northland Homes Incorporated in Gaylord. "Manufactured modular homes are taking a bigger percentage all over the country, mainly because of affordability. Six or seven years ago I started out selling seven to nine houses a year. We're up to 18 to 20 now. I think everybody else is experiencing kind of the same thing."

Hayes, Bagley and Otsego Lake townships saw the largest real growth as bedroom communities. Bagley Township is only warming up to commercial development lately as Home Depot opened this winter and Lowes Home Improvement and Meijer stores are scheduled to open over the next two years.

"We've had very little, if any commercial development to this point," said Bagley Township Supervisor Shirley Jenkins, crediting growth in her township as well to people wanting to be nearer to shopping centers such as Gaylord. Bagley grew by 918 people or 18 percent, the second lowest rate of growth with the second highest real increase from 4,920 to 5,838 residents. Where commercial development has started on Old 27 South, Jenkins indicated the township has tried to use it to residents' best advantage as a stepping stone to building a wastewater treatment facility that could eventually serve businesses along the highway and on the north end of Otsego Lake.

"We're trying very hard to address the growth," Jenkins continued. "The only reason we're having these problems is that we've seen the largest growth and we need to address the issues of infrastructure."

"When people look at it, percent is not the best tool to use in measuring growth," said county commissioner Carl Lord. The county recently completed a study of the M-32 -Old 27 highway corridors and adopted it into its master plan to address the future growth in the county. The county's planning commission is also reviewing the entire master plan to update it as a whole.

"It shows we're trying to keep ahead of this, but we're having difficulty keeping our master plan and our ordinances ahead of the growth," Lord said. "The thing we need to do is follow the pattern established by Bagley Township and have infrastructure the precedes growth and thus better manages it."